The Wilmot Word

This year, we will be celebrating Halloween at Wilmot on Tuesday, October 31. Below is important information to help make this a fun and safe day for everyone.

We want to remind families to be cautious when helping their child select a costume for Halloween. Using another's culture as a Halloween costume can be viewed as insensitive or offensive. In addition, we encourage students to be inclusive so that students do not feel excluded during the Halloween festivities. Students may not wear group costumes that exclude other students.

Costume Information:

• Students will wear costumes to school as we cannot easily assist students in changing into costumes during the school day.
• Masks (for costumes) should come to school in a bag to be worn only for the parade, pictures, and parties. Students should not wear masks on the bus or when walking to school.
• Toy weapons are strictly prohibited.
• Please send a bag for your child's costume should they choose to take it off during the day.
• If you need assistance in providing your child with a Halloween costume, please let me know
• Avoid group costumes that exclude other students from participating. Our goal is to create an inclusive school environment.
  

Parade:

• We will hold the Halloween parade at 8:55 am, weather permitting.
• Click below to see the parade route.

• 5th grade will lead the parade (starting at the gym doors), followed by 4th grade

• 3rd grade will join the parade at the art door (following 4th grade)

• 2nd grade and 1st grade will follow 3rd grade from the west GMA doors

• Kindergarten will exit from their classrooms and will follow 1st grade

• All students will walk one time around the school entering and exiting the same door

• Parents/guests should not stop the parade, approach the children, or ask students to step out of the parade for a photo.

Visitors:

• We ask that all guests remain outside during the parade.
• Parent/Guardian volunteers for classroom parties MUST have their ID when they check in with our office staff. No visitors will be allowed in the building without their driver's license or state ID.

Families who are not comfortable sending their child in costume, please reach out to your child's teacher so that we can be sensitive to you or your child's feelings about dressing up for Halloween. We want everyone at Wilmot to feel comfortable.

Our goal in District 109 is to work together to ensure the success of every child. As we are entering the month of October, we want to remind you that regular student attendance is vital to your child’s success. We are committed to working with you, our families, to achieve this goal by supporting your family with any concerns regarding student attendance.

As a reminder, if your child is going to be absent from school, please reach out to our school nurse, Mrs. Martinez, as soon as possible to discuss the reason for the absence. You can call Mrs. Martinez at 847-945-1075 X4103 or email to report an absence at wilmotattendance@dps109.org.

If we do not hear from you by 10:00 a.m., our school teams will continue attempts to contact parents/guardians and will also begin contacting emergency contacts. If we are still unable to reach you, we will work in collaboration with our School Resource Officer to conduct a wellness check.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Chronic Absenteeism is defined as absences totaling 10 percent or more of school days (including both excused and unexcused absences). If your child is absent 18 days or more (based on an average 180-day school year) then your child will be considered chronically absent.

• Chronic Truancy is defined as absences totaling 5 percent or more of school days without a valid excuse. If your child has 9 or more unexcused absences (based on an average 180-day school year) then they will be considered chronically truant.

We are here to work with our families to support positive school attendance. If there is anything we can do to better assist you and your child, please do not hesitate to let us know. There are many people in our building ready to help address any challenges in getting to school regularly or on time. We can also help identify barriers to regular attendance and implement key resources to support your family in these efforts.

Today we had many students without a lunch thinking they had ordered Fun Lunch. Please check your Marla's account each week to make sure your child has lunch each day.

Our lost and found continues to grow. Please have your children check the lost and found carts and tables for missing items. All unclaimed items will be donated the first week of November.

Mark your calendars! Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Thursday, October 26th from 1:00-4:00 pm & 5:00-8:00 pm and on Friday, October 27th from 8:30-11:30 am. All DPS109 schools will hold in-person parent-teacher conferences this year with an option to Zoom for parents/guardians who are not available for an in-person conference. Parents will sign up for a conference using Sign-Up Genius. These links were shared yesterday and can be found below.

It is best practice to hold one parent conference per child, to ensure that both parents receive the same information regarding their child’s strengths and needs. Therefore, I ask that parents sign up for one joint conference per student. If this is a concern, please reach out to me directly. We look forward to seeing all of our parents during conferences. Conferences are a discussion between parents and teachers. At this time elementary conferences do not include students and therefore we ask that children not attend the parent-teacher conference.

All 1st - 5th grade students are invited to submit a winter-themed work of art for a chance to be featured on Hyatt Regency Deerfield's holiday greeting card. One winner will be selected from each elementary school. Art for this contest should be completed outside of school. Please turn in all cards to Mrs. Dubin by Friday, October 20. Click the button below to learn more about this special contest.

PHYSICALS: All new students, Early Learners, kindergarteners, and 6th graders must have an updated health form on file by October 15th or they will be excluded from school.

CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT FORMS

We are looking for parents/community members who are interested in working as a lunch/recess supervisor substitute. All of our daily positions are filled at this time, but we often need substitutes when supervisors are absent. If you are interested in subbing as a lunch/recess supervisor please fill out the Google Form linked below. Human Resources staff will reach out those interested in subbing to set up an appointment to compete all necessary paperwork.

Deerfield Parent Network, in partnership with Districts 109, 112 and 113, is pleased to announce Julie Lythcott-Haims’ presentation, “How to Raise Successful Kids” on November 30th at 7:30 pm at Deerfield High School’s Auditorium.

Julie Lythcott-Haims is the New York Times best selling author of “How to Raise an Adult''. Drawing on research; conversations with admissions officers, educators, and employers; and on her own insights as a mother and as a student dean, Julie Lythcott-Haims highlights the ways in which over-parenting harms children, their stressed-out parents, and society at large. Mark your calendars - this is sure to be a great program! While walk-ins are always welcome, DPN is asking that you RSVP for planning purposes.

RSVP LINK: RSVP HERE

All Wilmot families should have received an email directly from Stuart Rodgers with directions for ordering your child's school picture. If you did not receive an email, please contact Stuart Rodgers at: 847-864-7322

We will offer picture retakes and an opportunity for photos for those who were absent on picture day. This will take place on October 25.

Click the link below to see our New PTO Newsletter. Learn about:

• Volunteering for Wilmot's book fair
• Team Give Sign Up (3rd-5th grades)
• PTO meeting dates

Dear Deerfield High School Community,

We greatly appreciate having our community and visitors enjoy our Warrior athletic events at Deerfield High School! To maintain a safe environment for all, students in grades K-8 must be accompanied and supervised by an adult at all events.

Students are expected to demonstrate appropriate behavior while attending these events.

If unsupervised students are found loitering in restricted areas or playing with equipment during the game, they will be instructed by security to return to the bleachers.

Please help us maintain a safe environment for our Warrior community.

• Monday, October 9

• No School - Indigenous Peoples’ Day

• Wednesday, October 11

• Fire drill

• Thursday, October 12

• Author Visit for grades 4-5 at 2:00 (Dan Abdo and Jason Patterson)

• Friday, October 13

• Tornado Drill

• Tuesday, October 17

• PTO meeting at 1:30 on Zoom

• Wednesday, October 18

• Book fair opens in the GMA

• Thursday, October 19

• Great Shake Out-Earthquake Drill

• Book fair in the GMA

• Friday, October 20

• Book fair in the GMA

• Sunday, October 22

• Book fair in the GMA

• Wednesday, October 25

• Picture Retakes (8:50-10:00 am)

• Thursday, October 26

• Early dismissal at 11:40

• Afternoon/evening parent conferences

• BOE Meeting

• Friday, October 27

• Morning parent conferences (no school for students)

• Tuesday, October 31

• Halloween parade - 8:55 am (more details about Halloween are coming)